Strategy of the Mid-Nor Dwarves
Strategy of the Mid-Nor Dwarves |
|
A small preliminary consideration: the ability Possessed.
Possessed is perhaps not Hard-boiled, but this is not too bad either because the Despot is great and generous.
Allow me to explain myself: a dwarf with Hard-boiled is without question more resistant than a Mid-Nor dwarf with the Possessed ability, but... the Mid-Nor dwarves have something that normal dwarves do not: Initiative (long live demonic possession, long live the Despot!) and that changes everything.
Whereas the Hard-boiled ability makes it possible for the dwarves to compensate for their lack of Initiative, the Possessed ability is nothing but a bonus for the small cantankerous hordes of the Despot.
A black mark however: shooting. The Possessed ability is no use against enemy shots and attacking spells, which is not the case for Hard-boiled. Add to this small remark the reduced movement of Mid-Nor (Ah well. The powers of darkness can make miracles, but Mid-Nor are still dwarves all the same.) and the heroic charges into the lines of Griffin fusiliers or against those insanly dangerous Bahran mages are more likely to resemble a slaughter than anything else...
You will have understood within the framework of these two armies what these competences are worth for yourself, more than whining complaints.
- Le Nuada
Here is a new strategy section for the servants
of the Despot.
The dwarves of Mid-Nor are not a very conventional people, they
are full of surprises and paradoxes. Although the army is
young and relatively few figurines are at its disposal, the
Mid-Nor dwarves have a certain security and great tactical
flexibility on the battle field.
By studying the units, one notices that the figurines
are slow in general (yeah, they're dwarves!) but there are
interesting exceptions which are the Reapers with their flight of
17.5 and the Sentinels with their movement of 12.5. Then, one can also
note that for their price, the units are incredibly well balanced.
It's enough to compare a warrior of Mid-Nor with the basic
troops of other armies. They are an excellent compromise between
ATT and DEF, with an average INI and Fear. Yes, the Mid-Nor cause
Fear and it is quite useful, at times (but it ain't
Killyox).
More especially as the Mid-Nor can field a War Staff and
really cause surprises in this area.
With regard to the Heroes, it's the same topic for Araqsalil.
Azahir is really not expensive for what he does on the
battle field and he's of sure value to the Despot.
Nérân is a priest of madness. Really, when he's out,
i.e. very often, he performs miracles this here fellow (no
pun intended). And his Invocation of Reapers is a must, but that's
not the only thing little Nérân can do. The miracles which he can use
thanks to his 1/1/1 priest capacities mean that the various
combinations he can use are very numerous. And a versatile
character is only more effective.
Akkadhalet is really a good magus. Good value like all
the other Mid-Nor, he's not an "abusive" character who kills the
game but one which offers tactical possibilities both amusing enough and
effective. Your opponent will be very annoyed when you cast
your spells. (see the section later) An amusing detail: he's the only
one with shooting: a pathetic dagger! But a counter-shot and
double 6s are funny enough to get.
What's necessary to make a good Mid-Nor army?
The answer is a few basic warriors (and halberdiers)
because the secret of victory is with them: it's to combine
the strengths of certain figurines with others. Fielding grunts is interesting
considering the ratio of quality:price but
they'll be that much more effective coupled with troops with a strong
attacking potential (Sentinels, Reapers) which will tie up, or
kill, enemy units until the warriors arrive. The Mid-Nor heroes being cheap
but effective, one can easily field several
even in small games of 200 A.P.
To play the excess is not very difficult either considering the
cost of the figurines in general. You will very often have
numerical superiority and even more so if you summon Reapers in
numbers.
Note: understand that if you field Nérân, you're on a
"slow" strategy because you'll have to make a mob around
him in order to have sufficient T.F. to make a success of his
miracles.
The Mid-Nors have only Akkadhalet as a magician.
It's a little but, without being excessively powerful like
Méliador, he has powerful spells of darkness (Elementary and
Chtonienne).
A special mention for Dark Scarification (I suppose that
you noticed it in the compos) but other well known spells such as Dance of
Dhalilia will be of undeniable utility with Akkadhalet.
The spells provided with the possessed Magus also have their utility:
Sacrificial Implosion can hold a big surprise and kill an
enemy figurine in a little time (6/8 in ATT for 3 in INI, it is really
not bad for a magus), Internal Chaos is a pain when it succeeds
(but I've never had the luck with my dice for this spell) and Orgy of the
Bloodthirsty fits the Mid-Nor image well and Azahir in
particular. Moreover, it's effective...
However, you should restrain yourself when you play
magic. Err OK, he's only an Initiate so you won't be able to succeed at all
the spells you want not any more that you won't be able
to roast it like other more powerful mages. When I
speak about restraint, it's for you to focus on one or two magics (two,
it's better). My preferred combination and the most effective to
my taste is that in the army compositions: Dark Scarification + Bow of
Mana. Very offensive and not very expensive, this combo does
wonders but won't astonish anyone...
With Mid-Nor, miracles and faith are
their strong points. Already, they count a 5 like a 6!
So the guiding principle to make a success of your miracles
is to spend T.F. to take additional dice and thus to
optimize your chances to cast one or even two miracles!! An
invocation of 2 or even 3 Reapers then another miracle
from the Universal Cult or Meandering Paths of Darkness cooly cast.
THE miracle to be taken is the Invocation of Reapers.
It's cheap and effective. It is, to my
mind, the great strong point of Mid-Nor. It's not the only one,
I'm appropriate about it but it would be really idiotic not to
benefit from it.
If you play Fear, which is really feasible, the Song of the Possessed
can easily make barbarians and other goblins flee but it remains
quite expensive so take it only if you're setting yourself up along these lines.
Now, the nice miracles:
- Occult Dubbing. A classic which can cause devastation
especially when you can bless a maximum number of figurines with
disconcerting ease.
- Inversion. The miracle which kills and then causes laughter.
OK, it won't happen every strike but read the
background of the miracle and you will understand what's
necessary to do with it. For the case where...
- Spiritual Aggression. A very strong potential for
destruction, in particular against Griffins and the Dwarves.
- Bewitchment of the Puppet. Can be powerful
against those Living Dead and Wolfen. The Devourers don't seem to have
good DIS (cf: Zeïren), this miracle can cause devastation with
an automatic hit to the head.
And well of other miracles are playable considering Nérân's capacity of 1/1/1. If you don't find happiness with that, I don't understand you any more.
AZAHIR
I have a weakness for him, really. He's really very strong without being unaffordable and if you give him his puppet (err, his armour) you have a walking tin can which heals itself. In combination with Dark Scarification on a critically wounded warrior engaged in hand to hand, he becomes really lethal. Another alternative is Azahir with The Iron and it's "Hello carnage". OK, one can always find someone stronger than oneself but for the price, Azahir is the best for me, all armies combined.
REAPERS
Aie! The Reapers are lethal and the more
you summon, the easier it is to summon more since they count
in your Aura of Faith. To send them 3 by 3 on the centre pieces of
the army is a sure means to get rid of them easily.
If you bless them with Nérân's Occult Dubbing, it's more
than lethal.
N&Ecute;RÂN
No apologies for saying it again, this guy can do everything and for so little cost...
Fear and mass invocation in 250 A.P.
|
Combat and effectiveness in 250 A.P.
|
|
|
Mid-Nor grand slam (around 550 A.P.)
|
The last composition, it's for giggles but on the table, it's quite something. Moreover it is effective. | -
All these compositions have no other goal than to show a "standard" Mid-Nor formation. I await the Scourge Bearers impatiently, like everyone.
Criticisms are always welcome and the replacement of Aldebaran is never easy.
I hope that this second version will satisfy as well as possible all the fans of the despot.
I am all ears for any proposals of strategy and combos (especially of combos).
Contact me, and an additional section for combos will make its appearance in this strategy guide.
- Wismerhill
